Escape
by Py687
Summary: Metroid Retribution 1. Following Metroid Fusion, bounty hunter Samus Aran is forced to become a fugitive. A criminal in the eyes of the Galactic Federation, she realizes her life is shattered. Read as she reconciles with unexpected forces and retaliates.
1. The Many Faces of Death

**Original A/N: Boy, am I excited about my third fanfiction! This one's about the Metroid series (one I absolutely love, by the way), and it takes place after Metroid Fusion. Read the summary of the story and review it, please. Now here's the scoop: Samus Aran, the famed bounty hunter who saved the universe a coupla times has finally become a crook for disobeying top-priority orders from the Galactic Federation. Charged with felony and destruction of property. she is faced with a few options. She takes the worst one available, being a video game character, and meets its consequences. All Metroid song remixes and originals I found on the internet were highly inspirational, the best being from Newgrounds, VGMixes, and OverClocked Remixes. Also, the first part of the series will be "Escape," and the second part will be "Flood." This work is hugely influenced by G3Rain1, Kefka Floyd, and Insomniac by Choice's fanfictions ("influence" wouldn't do the authors justice; I'd actually say "inspired") - the first one listed is one of the better Metroid authors on this site, while the other two are the Gods of Metroid. Literally.**

**Yeah, this is my first Metroid fanfic. The original one wasn't really worth continuing. The direction I was taking it was nothing what I had planned, and nothing was as good as I'd hoped. Nevertheless, I hope to try again, and thus have remade the first chapter. After this, the story will branch off differently from the original work (which I still have and may post for readers' comparison). Anyways, here's the first chapter now.**

* * *

Chapter I: The Many Faces of Death

Spire lunged at the Space Pirate, blasting at its energized battle shield. The shield's power flared as his charged Magmaul shot rammed into the shield. The Advanced Shield Trooper, aware of his burning shield, deactivated it and dropped its assault rifle. Smirking, the Pirate, one with a hefty bounty on his head, took out a hidden Battlehammer, and started to charge it. Spire, noting the waves expended from the tip of the weapon, rolled into his alternate form – the Dialanche. Acting quickly, the Space Pirate jumped to its feet, his finger slipping off the trigger. The shot missed Spire narrowly, and instead hit the rope holding the bridge together. Spire regained his balance from throwing his armour out at his opponent.

Spire's voice was a crackly voice, coming deep within his diaphragm. "Heh, nice try Viper. But your last mission of the Space Pirates will end in failure…"

With that said, Spire fired two missiles at the Pirate, who – with uncanny flexibility – twisted towards its right, and bent down. The homing missiles spun around it, and went past, careening out of control. But a split second later, they regained the heat signature and went full speed towards Viper. It activated its shield, which seemed to have more power than other Pirates. The first missile struck the outer left edge, and – without exploding – spun tip over tail past Viper, landing on the ground before detonating into shards of metal, which could not pierce the Space Pirate's superior armour. The second missile punctured the shield's center, and froze it; Viper glared at Spire's Magmaul, noting its ability to quickly change the missile type in less than a second. Viper tried to deactivate the shield, with no success – the ice had made its way to the controlling mechanism. He dropped the expendable piece of armour.

Viper's voice had a hint of mischief, almost like it was taunting Spire. With its nasally sound, Viper sneered, "I'm not going to be caught by the likes of you… bounty hunter." It spat out the two latter words, and Spire would later remember seeing the saliva coming out of its mouth. "And no-one… not even that great hunter of yours, Samus Aran, will ever come close to me again. Just so that's clear, I'll let you live… tell your friends that the Great Viper won't be caught by the likes of you. Oh – by the way, have fun getting back to Mondreus."

Spire was startled at the threat, and became alert. He changed his weapon to the Volt Driver, ready to scramble the vision of the Space Pirate at any second. But he never got the chance, as Viper unexpectedly shot with the Battlehammer at his feet, knocking him off balance. Smiling, Viper kicked his razor-sharp shield at Spire, its edges sharpened even more by the ice. Spire had no time to react, as the shield slammed onto his forehead, rendering him unconscious. Viper spared a glance at the singular sun, saw a ship-like shape in the distant west, and gripped Spire's limp arms with a left arm.

* * *

"Sir, reports of increasing bounty hunter activities are in. But there is nothing about Samus Aran, Commander Dane. However, we have-"

Fleet Admiral Castor Dane, approaching middle age, interrupted the male Federation Marine. With a sad look, he replied, "The specifics will not be necessary, Daniel. All I need to know is if Ms. Aran has been sighted in the Ooromine System. So, has she?" Captain Daniel Exeter shook his head, and the Admiral sighed.

Was it really possible that Samus, a hero of the human race, was a criminal? It seemed impossible… yet Dane knew the finer details from the Federation's reports. Hefting his heavy, black boots into a more comfortable stance, he excused the Marine and went back to his paperwork.

* * *

"Samus, we are now approaching the Tetra Galaxy. Are you sure that is where you wish to arrive?" Samus nodded. "Well, as you command, milady," Adam answered.

Samus leaned back on her leather seat as Adam processed the command into the ship's computer guidance system, fully aware of the Etecoons and Dachoras behind her, studying her Power Suit. Samus' skin-tight suit, interestingly named "Zero Suit," stretched all over her body, with a few glowing, pink spots on her back. She carefully placed her stun pistol into its holster, and put the ship on autopilot once Adam confirmed the command. It had only been two days since her escape from the Biologic Space Laboratories research station, and so far, there were no signs of the Galactic Federation's ships tracing her – which Samus found discomforting. The Federation usually had much better planned emergency plans, and would probably have thought Samus would disobey her orders. She was worried, yet grateful at the same time for the absence of Federation ships.

Samus gracefully slid off her blue chair, and made her way for the computer a few meters behind her. Samus' foot was caught in a wire, and she bent down over the ground. She noticed the Etecoons had dragged the wire out, either to find something or to make a space. She studied it for a while longer, seeing how the Etecoon was burying itself into a small area underneath the control panel. She shook her head, amused once again at the Etecoons' intelligence and innocent nature, and went over to the computer. She accessed her data entries, noting that the logs were from weeks back. She took the next few hours to input all her experiences with the X Parasite. After she was done, she noticed a small section she had nearly forgotten about, over time – a small area labeled "Bounty Hunters."

She quickly accessed the files, and saw six of the most deadly hunters she had ever encountered. Her mind raced back to when she first came across the bounty hunters – that was when her search for "the Ultimate Power" in the Alimbic Cluster. Her hands ran across the keyboard, and the computer selection skimmed from Kanden, Noxus, and Spire; but just as she was about to open the file on Sylux, Adam chirped in.

"Madam, we have reached the Tetra Galaxy. Which planet do you wish to visit?" Samus carefully thought about her choices… and answered.

"Actually, Adam, redirect the course to planet Bes III. I have a few errands there I would like to take care of first."

Adam almost sounded hesitant, but being a computer, complied with her order. "I would not recommend going there, lady, as the Galactic Federation is most likely searching on planets you have been to. But as you wish" But upon his suggestion, a sound was heard, and Adam reported damage. "Negative, Samus. We seem to have an enemy approaching the ship – not Galactic Federation, but it is certainly their equipment."

Samus stopped, that last phrase sticking out the most. "Adam, redirect all energy to shields and thrusters – and get us out of here!" She went over to the tube suspending her armour and opened it, and donned the Power Suit without the use of her usual method. She quickly accessed the computer again, and began a quick downloading procedure. "Status, Adam?" The computer told her about her pursuer's aggression, and recommended return of fire. "Negative, Adam, refrain from doing such an activity – we could further intimidate the enemy, if that's even possible at this stage."

Samus was alerted that the download was complete, and quietly sat in the cockpit. But before she could do anything more, her vision blurred, and she fell to the ground. She called for Adam – or was it just her imagination? – but he did not respond. Samus turned around and faced her attacker, but found no one to retaliate with. _Who would even _dare_ to track me down? Other than the Galactic Federation, nobody else would have the nerve to try infiltrating my ship… unless they held a grudge against me. _Samus switched to her scanning visor, but found nothing other than her own ship to scan. Samus cursed herself for not having explored the B.S.L. research station more thoroughly two days ago; if only she had her x-ray or thermal visor right now!

Another shot came from the other end of the ship, but this time Samus was prepared. She nimbly sidestepped the shot – and walked right into a trap. Two balls had been placed on the ground, and she saw a third one being laid by an irregularly shaped robot. The third one completed a triangular, electrical current and shocked Samus. As she succumbed to unconsciousness, she caught a glimpse of a shining purple and green figure transformed from the pronged robot, which seemed to be walking towards her at a casual pace. The last thing she saw before her eyes fell was a flash of blue emitting from the figure.

* * *

Noxus shot Viper a few more times, to no avail; the Judicator bounced harmlessly off the Space Pirate's energy shield. In his frustration, Noxus lashed at Viper in close range with a left-handed strike, hitting nothing but the energy shield. Viper reacted by forcing Noxus away and exposing his back; the Pirate charged a Battlehammer shot halfway and released it, hitting Noxus' backside with a loud smack. The icy hunter was knocked onto the ground, but not before his hand clutched onto the edge of the shield. He grabbed it and pulled it down with him, leaving the Space Pirate with naught but his trooper-level armour.

Noxus flipped over to his front and hit Viper with a Shock Coil, successfully draining the energy from the Pirate. Viper's H.U.D. showed his energy level plummeting at a perilous rate, but could do nothing – try as he might, his gun was jammed, and his weapon would not fire; as a result, he dropped the firer. True to his name, Viper revealed two fang-like blades imbedded onto a single handle in a right wrist compartment. Taking out the double-bladed dagger with his left hand, Viper made an unsteady stab at Noxus and struck his target. The Shock Coil instantly stopped as Noxus' cannon stopped firing, and the bounty hunter gasped for air, the toxin within the knife already spreading throughout Noxus. The Vhozon grasped at the handle of the dagger and pulled it out, his hands trembling from the fatal poison that already claimed his failing legs. Viper wheezed harshly, taking no notice of Noxus' failing condition.

"You know, that poison has similar effects as those of Phazon: the corruption will complete within weeks, and go mad from the effect. Before such an event, you'll often be racked with temporary unbearable pain, and you will definitely find it harder to do works that require athletic skill, such as bounty hunting. But don't worry; you'll probably die before any of this happens to you," Viper sneered. "I just love Space Pirate technology; don't you?"

He snatched the knife back, and just as he was about to place it into the compartment, Noxus blasted it with whatever strength he had left, freezing the dagger. Viper cursed Noxus and threw the blade down, picked up his gun and battle shield, and departed from the scene without a word, heading for his ship in the Agon Wastes.

"Hey, why are you leaving so soon? The party's just getting started," Spire hollered.

Viper took an alarming glance in the ship's direction and saw Spire's hulking form gone from behind the rock where he had left him. _Dang. Had the Vhozon really delayed me long enough for the Diamont to awake? Well, I'm not a fool to take on another of the hunters so soon. I guess I won't be able to drop Spire off at Phrygis as planned, but that's not important. All I have to do is make it back to my ship, and everything with proceed as planned…_ Viper thought. He gave a quick smile at Spire and ran off.

Spire ruminated over whether or not to give chase to Viper, but thought better of it and attended to Noxus' wounds. His partner for the mission had gotten hurt, and if the mission was to be completed the both of them had to stay alive. Noxus could die later for all he cared, but not until completion of the task.

Their hirer, a Martian named Charles Keaton, required Viper killed for revenge, and had employed the two bounty hunters for the job. Viper had proven to past hunters that he was more than a minor nuisance, by killing the hunters themselves. Trayne, a renowned bounty hunter who came from Twin Tabula, had only a disembodied head when found on Oormine II. Another skilled hunter, a former inhabitant of Bes III called Damien, tried capturing Viper to no avail – he went mad after the encounter, apparently due to Viper's special toxin. Deciding to think on the topic no more, Spire helped Noxus to his feet, which collapsed almost immediately.

"I'm in no condition to chase after him now," Noxus said as coolly as possible. "Just go after Viper first, and I'll catch up."

"You mean you haven't heard of the stories about Viper? He's one of the toughest mercenaries around. I couldn't care less if you died, but only after this mission."

Noxus grimaced but managed to turn it into a small smile; he was thankful for a temporary companion. If only Noxus knew for sure what type of poison Viper had given him; then he could treat it and go after the Space Pirate.

* * *

**Okay. Now I'm gonna finish editing the second chapter, alright?**


	2. Retaliation

**Well, many _many_ thanks to G3Rain1. Without his help (and encouragement?) my story would be confusing the whole way. Here are the fruits of my last few weeks: Retaliation.**

* * *

Chapter II: Retaliation

Sylux slammed against the side of the ship, his back feeling the brunt of the impact. His heels knocked against the ship wall, and Sylux heard his Federation armour thud on it. With strenuous will, he lifted his left foot up and placed it onto the wall, focusing most of his strength into the ball of his foot. He vigorously pushed himself off the wall, slowly gaining on Samus. Not to let herself be overtaken so easily, Samus shoved back against Sylux, efficiently turning the fight into a pushing contest. With a strain, Sylux thought back to minutes before… how had it come to this? All Sylux had been doing was fulfilling the wish of his client: to capture a living Samus and bring her back to his client.

--x--

Sylux remembered that he had been sitting on his blue-and-black leather cockpit seat polishing his arm cannon after he had successfully infiltrated Samus' ship ten minutes ago, when suddenly Samus had pointed her gun at his head. _Why would the bounty hunter try close combat? She knows my Shock Coil is much better at that than her weak martial arts…They would barely be a challenge!_ Sylux had thought. _In fact, I should subdue her right now-_

"You move a centimeter, and this primed Omega Cannon will blow your brains out. Now give me one reason why I shouldn't do it anyway," Samus had declared, unknowingly answering Sylux's question. Then the green-and-purple hunter had simply swiveled around in his chair and sprung up from his chair, Shock Coil at the ready. However, Samus had heard the springs in the chair creak from the forced pressure and nimbly sidestepped. Sylux glanced at Samus' arm cannon and saw she had been bluffing – _of course, since she turned it in to the Federation; I'm such a fool!_ – and barely dodged her charge beam. As a counterattack, Sylux had then rammed into Samus, attempting to shock her with his affinity weapon; but Sylux was caught by surprise when she spun out of his pathway and thrust herself into her, slamming him against the side of the ship… and that final remembrance guided Sylux's mind back to his current predicament.

--x--

Meanwhile, Samus was starting to struggle in her tussle with the other bounty hunter. She dug her right heel into the metal hull of the Delano 7, pushing back with all her might. When Sylux began claiming an advantage over her, Samus released her grip with Sylux and spun to her right, almost tumbling over; she was the first to regain balance. Sylux barely had a hold on his sights when a devastating blow was delivered to the back of his head, knocking him into the ground. Samus' left foot pounded the ground with a victorious thud; the aching it received from striking Sylux's head was already starting to null. Samus then debated on whether or not to kill Sylux, but decided against the homicidal action. There would be a time for killing later; what Samus really needed to know was who had sent Sylux – she hardly believed the Galactic Federation would hire him. Enjoying the prospect of seeing Sylux squirm under her interrogation gave Samus joy, and she quickly tied up her captive with an energy rope.

The huntress glanced out the window and saw her own gunship floating in orbit alongside Sylux's ship; glad her ship was mostly unharmed and flyable, Samus ordered it to board the top of the Delano 7's hull with her still-functional command visor. There was a muffled thud as her ship attached its landing clamps onto the Delano 7.

Samus switched to her scan visor; her heads-up display lit up with dozens of new available scans, and she started with the one she thought would be most useful: the ship control panel. She inclined her head toward the target and locked her sights on it, and the scanning bar gradually filled until the entry showed up on her display. She skimmed over most of the text on the technical status of the panels, and saw the branch about entry logs.

Intrigued, Samus initiated the control panel's logbook function, and the screen filled with dozens of entries, the oldest dating to less than thirty years ago, with the newest one entered in the previous hour. She activated the latter, revealing on the screen Sylux's latest record.

_-- Opening Logbook_

_-- Reading Logbook_

_-- Displaying Latest Entry (Entry __#__17829)_

_-Beginning of Session_

_August 27__th__, 2081_

_For the past few months, I have dedicatedly tried determining the location of bounty hunter Samus Aran's gunship; I believe my search has finally neared fruition. A few minutes ago, a purple gunship registered to bounty hunter Samus Aran entered my scanning range. Curiously, it has not left its position, leading me to wonder who resides in its cockpit; in a few moments, I will board the purple gunship and kill the famous bounty hunter known as Samus Aran._

_-Ending of Session_

_-- __Reading Logbook_

_-- Scanned No Later Entries_

_-- Closing Logbook_

_Damn, _Samus cursed mentally; her own mistakes had, once again, put her life – and the Etecoons and Dachoras' – in danger._ Damn it, Samus, why did you have to stop here? You're doing a great job of exposing yourself to the Galactic Federation now…Gotta be more careful and scan everything as you enter a new system._ Even as she closed Sylux's logbook and accessed the ship controls, she considered that even if the Federation had not hired Sylux, the bounty hunter could still send an anonymous report to them, which worried Samus even more.

Ignoring the notion, she turned her direction to the computer stationed in front of the leather cockpit seat. Without sitting down, Samus bent slightly over and touched the holographic pane that hovered across the control panel. She redirected the Delano 7's path to Aliehs III with a one-minute countdown. If the Delano 7 was sent back to the Federation, it could take them off Samus' tail for a while; at least, until they figure out who returned the prototype ship. Samus quickly took hold of Sylux's energy ropes and dragged him over to the Delano 7's exit. As they went out, a beam of light materialized, and artificial gravity caused the duo to ascend into Samus' gunship.

As they boarded the ship, the huntress was pleased to see the Etecoons and Dachoras unharmed. Samus set Sylux on the other side of the ship, away from the Zebesian animals. _That should be safe enough for the creatures,_ Samus indignantly thought. She took her seat at the cockpit of her purple ship and accessed the online map. _If I go to Aether, maybe the Luminoth can help me… but most likely the Federation's still on the planet for the reconstruction. I have nowhere else to go though. _Samus tapped impatiently on the control panel – the timer in her helmet indicated there were only about ten seconds until the Delano 7 warped to Aliehs III, only with Samus' gunship._ Well, I'll just have to take care of the Galactic Federation there if I have to._ Samus considered calling for Adam to direct a path to Aether, but thought better of it – if Samus _had_ called for him when Sylux boarded the ship, then most likely the hunter had deactivated Adam somehow.

Even as she opened the manual piloting controls, Samus' gut instinct – the one she had relied on for most of her missions –told her there was something wrong. When she tried to detach her ship from the Delano 7, her suspicions were deemed correct.

_-- !MALFUNCTION! UNABLE TO RETRACT GUNSHIP CLAMP_

_-- !WARNING! GUNSHIP CLAMPS UNSECURE_

_-- !WARNING! ATTACHED SHIP ENGAGING WARP DRIVE_

_-- !WARNING! GUNSHIP CLAMPS UNSECURE_

_-- !WARNING! ABORT TAKEOFF IMMEDIATELY_

Five notifications flashed on the screen in front of Samus, and she responded by furiously tapping "Release Clamps" and giving the ship as much thrust as possible, hoping the force would release her gunship from the Delano 7 at the expense of its clamps breaking. There was no response from her ship for a few seconds, but then it suddenly jerked to its right as the Delano 7 entered hyperspace and Samus was flung to her left, her shoulder taking the brunt of the fall.

Sylux's ship had entered hyperspace and successfully made it through to Aliehs III in a matter of seconds; Samus' ship was thrown off midway, haphazardly exiting hyperspace.

* * *

"Samus? I tried to get the meddling Zebesians away from your injured body, but they hadn't listened. I think you'd better check on your captive, though." Adam's familiar computerized tone bore through Samus' haze of drowsiness. Samus realized she had been asleep for a while… and remembered what had happened.

"Adam? Where are we right now? How long have I been sleeping?"

"I believe we're in the orbit of planet Tivus. You have been unconscious for the last half-hour."

Samus racked her brain, trying to remember why the name sounded so familiar. _Tivus… That was where the GFS Valhalla was before it fell to the Space Pirates. I wonder what makes it so important to the Federation…_ "Adam, I'd like us to just remain in orbit for the meantime." Samus got up from the ground and faced Sylux. The multicoloured bounty hunter was still unconscious – or at least he seemed to be – but Samus decided to confirm he was anyway. It would not do to have a battle onboard her already-damaged ship.

Samus strutted over to Sylux; his armour was mostly unscratched from their last battle; she was impressed by the endurance of the Federation prototype equipment. Even as Samus kneeled on the ground, a shimmer of light passed by his visor. Again, Samus thought it amazing how clean Sylux could maintain _his_ power suit; she could hardly scratch the dirt off the heel of her boots.

_So that was what the shine from the ambush was…_ Samus reflected, as she diligently went to get a spare energy rope from the back of her ship. She tied a knot around Sylux, completely ensuring his "captured" status. Then she turned back to window of her spaceship and made her decision.

"Adam, prepare to land on Tivus."

* * *

"So it turned out that Viper was bluffing?"

"Not exactly. The poison is either effective immediately or lies dormant for, oh, about several decades until it actually starts to… you know."

Spire was relieved; if Noxus was not going to die yet, then maybe the success rate of their mission will not be too low. "So d'you think he's still on the planet?"

"I'm not sure. As I'd said earlier, you should've chased after Viper. I was in no shape to _chase_ the Pirate, but that didn't mean I couldn't have limped my way there," Noxus replied haughtily. "And if you had followed my recommendation, you'd probably be closer to capturing him than you are now."

"Hey, don't forget I helped save your ass back there. If it weren't for me, there would've been no chance of you finding out what kind of poison it was. Good thing I remembered about the Urety incident a few years back. Moreover, weren't you listening to me a few hours ago? Viper's criminal record is nasty: most hunters he's faced end up dead – and those are the lucky ones. Others end up getting poisoned like you… well, no offense meant."

Noxus bristled at the comment, but shrugged it off. He was lucky to be alive. The poison Viper had used was one used frequently on Wotan VII during its liberation war. Officially named the Corrue Virus (nicknamed "Covee"), it had been developed by the Space Pirates. Many bounty hunters in the galaxy preferred the toxin to others, due to its effectiveness in battles and assassinations. The victim was subject to stings more painful than lava for a Vhozon, more often than one would enter a spaceship in his lifetime. Most likely, the prey would be dead within hours, but otherwise, over weeks he would go insane. Only about a sixth of the population, naturally immune to the toxic substance than most for unknown reasons, would stall the effects for numerous years. Unfortunately, afterwards the effect is prolonged.

Luckily for Noxus, Spire recalled the Urety incident, which happened a few years ago on the planet Jovia XII. What happened was the Corrue Virus had been reengineered as a gas, successfully killing one-third of the planet's inhabitants. Ever since that episode, the Corrue Virus received a popular title among hunters, and most, if not all, hunters study the symptoms of the toxin – including mild everyday headaches, a slight pigmentation paling, and, more importantly, the changing of the eye and vein colours.

"You're wrong on at least one thing, though: even without your help, I would have figured out it was the Covee anyways. Almost every bounty hunter's studied the damn poison… Anyways, are _you_ sure Viper headed in this direction? If we're not on his track, we might not be able to find Viper anymore."

Spire nodded, and the pair of aliens continued heading west.

* * *

**This certainly seems better than my original chapter on second thought. It's not up for the moment because I'm busy working on the third chapter. In it, we'll find out why Adam hadn't responded, and who hired Sylux.**


	3. Preparations

**My first chapter to cross the three thousand-word line, "Preparations" is now ready for readers! Many thanks to G3Rain1 (whom I have bothered many times to read and reread the beginning parts) and to all my reviewers (reviewers from before I deleted my old story). Also, "/\/\/\" is a slight time break, give or take a few hours, while "--x--" is a flashback (or something similar).**

* * *

Chapter III: Preparations

Daniel Exeter, captain of the GFMC Task Force Hercules, paced around his room uncomfortably. If the admiral deported his troops to the Tetra Galaxy, then he may as pray to God now. Daniel knew capturing Samus Aran would bring great rewards, but failure would result in a demotion, or even worse: death by the hands of one of the most merciless bounty hunters in the universe. Restless with the pessimistic thought, Daniel jumped when someone knocked on his door.

"Who's there?" Daniel inquired, nervous. His boots made a steady, squeaking staccato sound on the recently waxed floor.

A slight Spanish accent accompanied the reply. "It's just me, sir: Commander Samuel LeTania." Daniel breathed out a sigh of relief, and let the commander in. "I've come to bring you your cup of coffee and a message, sir. It's from Admiral Dane." The commander placed a scorching paper cup on the good captain's desk. "I didn't read it, alright? The baby's sealed up tight." Samuel handed a brown paper envelope to Daniel.

"Like you don't know how to open and reseal envelopes. We both went to Eastside on Tel-Vixto IV, remember?" Daniel sighed; Sam was a good friend and soldier, but sometimes he disobeyed orders. In fact, he did so quite frequently. "You're dismissed, Commander LeTania. Oh, tell Lieutenant Davis to come in."

"Which Davis, sir? Valerie Davis or Davis Knaw?"

"You know which one, Sam. Do I call people by their last names or first?"

"Is that a trick question, sir?" The commander grinned, amused at his captain's own mistake. "I'll certainly call her in, sir."

"Good. As I said, you're dismissed. Get outta here before you make me put you on probation."

Sam closed the door as he walked out, and Daniel settled his eyes on the brown envelope. It had a coarse texture, and the captain could see oil stains on it. Clearly written on the front of the packet were the words "Confidential: For Authorized Personnel Only." The captain proceeded to open the envelope, only to find its content a flat sheet of metal, about two centimeters thick. The metal piece had a card reader imbedded on its right side and a lock on its left. Captivated by what the device might hold, Daniel took out his Galactic Federation keycard and swiped it through the card reader. He heard inner locks unlocking for a few seconds, and then undid the exterior lock. Daniel lifted the covering of the "box" and picked up a packet of papers.

"When did the admiral's orders become a lecture? This'll take me days to finish reading." Wearily, Daniel scanned through the first page and sat upright instantly. It stated an anonymous report sent from a Galactic Federation ship patrolling the Tetra Galaxy had sighted Samus Aran's ship – Daniel knew this already – and that five companies would be sent to apprehend the bounty hunter. Three of the five would proceed on a direct chase and fire at will, while two companies would assess the situation and provide help as necessary. "Why is he expending so many forces just to capture a fugitive? Five companies seem too many to apprehend a single bounty hunter…"

"She's not just any hunter, Exeter."

Daniel looked up and stood up, saluting at the same time. "Sir! I didn't hear you come in," the captain explained.

"It's alright. I came in to tell you you'll be one of the two standby companies."

"Yes sir!" Daniel responded. In truth, he was relieved – he would be one of the passive groups. "Sir, if I may ask…"

"Ask away, Captain, but I believe I already know your question. Is it regarding the total number of companies?" The captain nodded, and Admiral Dane allowed a slight smile to light his face. "Very well, then. How much do you know about Samus Aran? Ever met her, Exeter?"

"No, sir, but I _have_ heard he's a ruthless bounty hunter, capable of doing almost anything."

"Let's hope you don't meet her, then. She's a dangerous-"

"Sir, I hope you won't mind my interruption," Daniel wondered; at this, Dane harrumphed. "But I believe you said 'her.' Perhaps you meant…" Daniel trailed his sentence off on purpose.

"Damn it! It has slipped out again… I'm not supposed to be telling you this, but Aran is a woman. As a woman, inexperienced hunters often underestimate her, a grave mistake if they make it. It gives her an advantage in most cases."

"Sir, why can't you tell?"

Dane shook his head, but smiled. _He will make a fine admiral when the time comes._ "Asking too many questions now, are we? Look, telling the troops Aran is a woman is jeopardizing our mission. Most men here have huge egos, Daniel – you're one of the few men who can suppress his pride and get the damn job done. If truths are revealed to captains, they'll not only be amazed, they'll get cocky! Even with Aran's past record, her success won't mean shit if she's a woman. Yeah, humans like to pride themselves on being less prejudiced than most other races, but that doesn't mean it is entirely gone."

"Sir, I beg to differ. Don't you think you're underestimating the troopers?"

"It's not as simple as a matter of whether or not they're underestimated, Exeter; no, it's a matter of precautions. Like I explained just now, the men will get cocky, overconfident, and not even put their heart into it. To paraphrase, they would think it'd be as easy as 'taking candy from a baby.'"

Daniel was about to interject, when his subconscious reminded him the admiral was still his superior. Moreover, Castor had his point: many of the other troops in his force _were_ egotistical. Just because the GFMC Task Force Hercules had survived and won in the encounter with the Space Pirate company Urety a few years ago did not mean it was fit to take on anybody. Unfortunately for Daniel, his team acted like so. However, his men's egotism had never taken as far a turn as the admiral suggested, either; and they certainly had not shown any sexism. However, Daniel did not say that.

What he did say was "Point taken, sir. However, even if she's an amazing hunter, _why_ do we need to apprehend her? It seems almost pointless – we let hundreds of them free, yet chase after a specific one. Why?"

"A lot of reasons, really, but mostly because she stole something from a BSL space station two days ago – or so I've been told."

"Yes, sir. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Actually, you can, Captain. But from this point on, nothing is to be revealed to your peers, your team, or anyone lower than my rank. Understand?"

_What is he going to say now?_ "Yes, sir!"

"Good. I have a secondary objective in the coming mission for you."

* * *

"Available records on planet Tivus, Adam?" Samus inquired. If she were going to land in a few minutes, she would need a thorough debriefing on the planet.

"Accessing the Galactic Federation central database…" was Adam's reply before a few seconds of beeping and whistling commenced. "I'm sorry, Samus, but it appears the Federation has sealed off those records. They are classified information – in other words, out of our reach. It seems the Federation may not be that stupid after all, Lady."

"I suppose not," Samus agreed. "Is there any _public_ information they've released, though? I know much of the press under their territory can't do anything, but they always manage to get some info out."

"Well, we do know this: some Federation troopers are trained here, but mostly the planet is off-limits to people – G.F. without clearance included."

_Why would the Federation require Tivus to be off-limits even to themselves? What are they hiding? _"In that case, Adam, lock the ship when I get off, and only let me on if your bio scan readings are clear except for me for a twenty-meter radius. The passengers can run free in here – with what little room I have – but make sure Sylux doesn't do anything. Understand?" ordered Samus. Her command seemed secure enough, but maybe she should include a password. _No, that would be too complicated. For all I know, Sylux could be conscious at the moment, and be listening…_

After Adam indicated he had affirmed her order, Samus donned her Power Suit. In a few seconds, her ship landed on the surface of Tivus. Her goal was clear: sabotage the Tivus towers, learn the details of how/why the Federation plans to capture her (she was sure Tivus would have such information; after all, it was off-limits to people), and uncover Tivus' secrets. _Watch out, Federation: Samus Aran is back._

/\/\/\

Samus had been exploring the landscape of Tivus for an hour, but so far, it seemed to be devoid of any life forms. As Samus cleared yet another five-foot-tall shrub, she sighed and frowned. When she first landed on the planet, there appeared to be only two viable landings - the rest were too near Galactic Federation outposts or at a range detectable by them – and Samus chose the one hidden by surrounding trees. Instead of having Adam take the ship into orbit, Samus left it at her landing site, something she did commonly in her missions. After being assured Adam had understood her orders, she had exited her ship and ventured east.

--x--

In the beginning, there were no apparent signs of alternate routes: in fact, the pathway to the west was strangely linear. Later, Samus did see what appeared to be four looming towers in the distance, and she assumed those were part of the Federation outpost on the west side of the planet – well, the west side of her view in space.

The land was barren, almost desert-like in appearance. What offset that appearance was the presence of various flora and intricately detailed stone bricks – not by the hundreds, but by the thousands. Samus had never thought a planet's environment could look so diverse: the shorter plants were scattered about randomly, but in small clumps of two or three. The taller plants – namely trees – grew within several inches of each other, creating a tight woodland that covered, so far, eighteen meters. If not for a messily made trail she found several meters from her ship, Samus would have had to incinerate most of the trees to make her own trail. Soon after following the trail, she found stone bricks on the ground, each one made with careful detail and consideration. There were swirls and loops on the sides of the bricks, and possibly ancient writing – Samus could not be sure – but were cracked and broken. Samus barely put her finger on it when the slight pressure caused the brick to give, and it crumbled onto the ground.

--x--

Samus took a quick gasp as she finally cleared the woods… and saw an enormous temple made out of rock. Towering at 110 yards, it seemed to be extremely old, and the bricks looked as if they were about to crumble, but Samus guessed the temple must have been tremendously durable. The stone bricks of the temple had the same patterns as the ones Samus had seen scattered on the ground in the woods, which led her to the conclusion either someone had been dismantling the temple brick-by-brick, or a destructive force had attacked but not destroyed the temple, just taking bricks off. Nevertheless, the temple retained as sense of wholeness, as if the bricks on the ground had not belonged to it.

There were signs of wear on four nine-foot pillars standing adjacent to the temple – one in front, another on the back, and two more on the sides – mostly likely from natural disasters. These pillars seemed minuscule compared to the actual temple, shaped like a pyramid from the front and flat on the back and two sides. According to Samus' scan, the temple most likely was an entryway to an underground dungeon, which could span from several yards across to several miles.

The huntress reached an indecision: if she were to enter the glorious temple, she might find a suit upgrade (the building seemed similar to past antiquity designs by the Chozo); on the other hand, she might be wasting her time when she should be sabotaging the Galactic Federation outposts on Tivus while learning the details of her capture. Finally, her curiosity got the best of her. Samus approached the entrance of the temple, a stone slab as huge as the entrance blocking her. Preparing herself for what was to come, Samus shot the slab, which retracted upwards, creating an open passageway. Samus took one last glance at the temple's exterior, admiring its architectural design and exquisite patterns once again, and entered the sanctuary.

* * *

Being a commanding officer was difficult. Being a computer was even more difficult.

As a commanding officer, all you did was give orders and punish those who did not follow them, and do what your superiors told you to do. As a computer, you had to do dozens of things by computing arithmetic equations and decoding program instructions one-by-one, while doing several other tasks such as monitoring the ship's power usage and maintaining a state of equilibrium throughout the ship, meaning you had to change the temperature and possibly the constant pressure inside the ship.

At the moment, Adam had been trying to figure why he had not responded when Samus called for his help during Sylux's ambush while doing said tasks. After finding small leads and reaching dead ends, he decided to search the entire ship for a foreign program or contaminant. His hour-long search was interrupted when Sylux awoke; logical thinking dictated that Adam decided on fully concentrating on the captive.

"Hey," Sylux mumbled. At this state, he was most likely fully awake, but chose to pretend instead; Adam did not respond. "I… oh, anyone there? Aye… my head." Sylux pretended to lose consciousness again, and remained immobilized for a few minutes longer. Adam still did nothing, preferring to observe Sylux's next action. When he at last thought he was not monitored (save the Etecoons and Dachoras), Sylux became completely alert. "Well, well, well… it looks like the bounty hunter forgot to make sure my suit was out of power before leaving her ship." At that statement, Sylux rebooted his Shock Coil and tried short-circuiting the energy ropes he was bound by. Unfortunately for him, he remained a prisoner.

"Trying to escape, bounty hunter?"

Startled, Sylux looked around in surprise. "Ah, looks like you haven't left after all, Sammy. Nice voice distortion."

Not sure if he should play along, but did not want Sylux to know the truth either, Adam pretended temporarily. "Yeah, thanks. That was a nice ambush; too bad I thwarted it by capturing you. Now, enough of the niceties, Sylux."

"Ah, I'd do anything for you, milady. I suppose you'll question me now?" Sylux nonchalantly replied. He seemed to be enjoying the interrogation.

There was a slight hesitation before Adam answered, but Sylux did not seem to notice. "Yes. First off, who sent you? What is the name of your employer?"

"Now, Sammy, you know I'd never tell a fellow hunter _anything_ about my hirers. I will tell you this, however: he's a Space Pirate."

"Very well; on to the next question." Adam decided he would come back to the subject later and instead probe for the question/answer that most piqued his curiosity. "So, during that ambush… how _did_ you track down my ship? And more importantly, how'd you manage to land aboard?"

"I can't tell you that either, Samus. See, if I did, then-"

"I'm not asking you to tell me, I'm ordering you to! I don't really think you are in any position to negotiate right now. So, answer me."

"Well, finding your ship was actually your own doing. Sure, I was interested in finding you, but you suddenly popped onto my radar only seconds after I arrived at the Tetra Galaxy. As for landing on your ship, that was easy after I subdued your stupid AI. Did you know he has to maintain everything on this ship manually? I simply shot your thrusters and started an overheat. Then your AI goes to investigate, I trap him with a virus and wipe his memory of the last few minutes with the virus. While the bug traps your AI, I board your ship. I'd have thought you'd figured that out by now."

A few minutes of silence followed Sylux's last comment. As Adam processed this information – and made a mental note to upgrade his defenses – Sylux proceeded on cutting the energy ropes with his arm cannon, but it did not work either.

"You should stop doing that, Sylux. You cannot free yourself, period. However, if you insist on continuing this behavior, I will be forced to render you unconscious again. Understand?" Sylux gritted his teeth, then nodded his comprehension. "Good. Now, I'd like you to-"

There was suddenly a slight static on the intercom. "Adam, can you hear me? Get the ship off Tivus, now!" Another small burst of static trailed Samus' latest message before silence.

"You little rat! You were impersonating Samus?" Sylux demanded to know. If the AI was present, but not Samus, there was nothing to fear from it. Moreover, they should be going into orbit… which meant he could easily shut the AI down and take over the ship.

Meanwhile, Adam was silent: he decided that, under current circumstances, it was better to remain quiet rather than speak any more. Instead, he focused his attention on Samus' order, diverting as much energy as he could to the ship's thrusters to take them to orbit Tivus, and constructing a detailed report of what happened while she was gone.

When Sylux finally realized the AI was ignoring him, he decided to conserve his energy until Samus came back. As Sylux conceived his plan, his mouth twisted into a cruel smile. It _was_ going to be fun.

* * *

**I'd say, without a doubt, that this was one of my better chapters. Well, as always, any reviews (unsigned or signed) are welcome here, so please tell me how I'm doing! The next chapter should be finished within the next few weeks or so...**


	4. Demise

**I'm back, guys, and before you read, please listen to what I have to say.**

**Have we agreed? Then here we go.**

**Firstly, it has been, in actuality almost a year since I published my original manuscript for this story. Yes, the date this story shows is wrong - but why? Let me explain.**

**You see, when I first started Escape (or, back then, as Metroid Retribution), ****I couldn't have been more excited about this. Finally I was able to work on a Metroid fanfic. Then, disaster struck. My first reviews stated how good it was, and I thought, I'm doing pretty well for my third fic (although technically, I have been concentrating most of my time on this one, and I would consider _this_ my first "serious, not fooling around" fic)!**

**But when I decided to inquire for a beta-reader, and G3Rain1 accepted my request, I was devastated by his review. It stated how my story was, more or less, crappy. Sure, my plot may have been good, among other things, but what made it horrible was how confusing my fic became. I became lazy and literally skipped scenes, only denoted by a large horizontal bar or otherwise. But, after some discussion with this highly-regarded writer (at least to me), I decided to redo the whole thing.**

**That's right. Tear it all down and begin anew. So I deleted my old one (explaining the "false date"). Of course, as some of you may know, the first chapters between the two versions are relatively similar, if not for a few conventional editing and scene additions, but, as for the rest of this story you see... it's abridged.**

**Needless to say, the reviews that were written, the traffic it had received, the alerts, the favorites; they were all gone. Despite this loss, I found the courage to PM the authors who had favorited or put this story on alert, and even the owner of a C2 who once had my story. And while you, as readers, may not know how difficult this is, I myself found it extremely hard to face the embarrasing fact that my story was so bad I had to start all over - and inform readers and writers of this esteemed fanfiction community.**

**Since then, this story has undergone some changes in titles and summaries, ranging from Metroid Retribution to Metroid Eradication, as have some of my chapter names. Until now, when I have settled it as Escape for part of an x-number of stories series, rightfully titled _Metroid Retribution_.  
**

**Once you have overcome this wave of nostalgia (including yours truly and, if you have been here since the beginning, you readers), please continue perusing this small narrative of my story's life.**

**Which brings us back to now, the present.  
**

**I must admit, after nearly four months of not updating this story, I feared I would lose most of my readers (except my brother), because I thought some of you may have wondered whether I scrapped this fic or just plain died. Well, I can happily say neither has happened! I have just been overwhelmed with enormous amounts of homework in my current freshman year (along with the introduction of a mandatory freshman graduation project) that I have not had enough time to sufficiently work on this. I also realize this is a poor excuse, and I make a formal apology to all who have awaited this chapter.**

**However, I finally have it done, and I believe _that_'s what matters in the end. I truly and gratefully thank G3Rain1 for his gracious help in beta-reading this numerous times and going over the same sections on editing instead of skimming through when I accidentally forget to correct certain aspects of this installment. But please, I implore you to stick with me 'til the end, and to review and suggest to me as often as you think necessary.**

**I thank you, my readers, most of all, for even wasting time you will never recover to read this story. I cannot believe how hard it must be for you readers to have read the last three chapters, none of which have truly showcased my maturation in writing, be it academically or not (trust me, my school papers are much better than these fictional pieces).**

**I thank you for having responded to my requests for reviews and for reading it.  
**

**And now, as yet another favor, I urge you to read this fourth chapter.**

* * *

Chapter IV: Demise

Surly from finding nearly nothing of use insofar as her expedition within the temple, Samus believed the small quest to be futile. For the past few minutes, she had been led down a winding tunnel, devoid of _any_ life forms. During the lengthy walk, Samus had resolved to decipher the connotation of the temple's hieroglyphs (it was, when one realized the proclivity of her research, almost a perfunctory activity she did during the peaceful portions of many of her missions) as something other than mere detailed engravings by looking through past entries and memos she had made or saved, either for the Galactic Federation or herself; so far, though, she had made no progress whatsoever. That, in turn, had done nothing to ease Samus' truculent temper. However, she realized a few minutes later that, due to her myopic experience in history, her research had not been broad enough; rather than being the written equivalents of a spoken language, such symbols may well be part of a different dialect, one that _only_ existed in a written form.

And as she came to this realization, Samus' search on her subject was more fruitful than before. She soon came upon an article that specified on the pure, original prose of the Chozo, before their writing became the legendary indecipherable language to humanity as it now is. She had saved a copy of this article into her files, originally intending to read this article for an assignment of her own two years ago, until the project was later scrapped when a top-priority mission regarding Space Pirates interrupted it; Samus never again found the time nor the desire to continue the project, but had not deleted the article from her memory files either.

However, Samus was now intrigued by the unique style of writing – and the chosen topic itself – and found a yearning to read it once more; and read she did, the research paper covering most of her heads-up display. It described, in meticulous detail, what resulted from the personal investigation of the article's author, and what he concluded of those data – mainly, what the author thought happened to the Chozo and how their language had evolved so fast, and why it contrasted so much from the origins of most human languages. The author – apparently a university student of Eastside, Tel-Vixto IV several decades ago – then speculated that Chozoan language had developed from an intrinsic dialect only consisting of inscribed characters, ones that were not entirely different from the Chinese culture. However, the history of this particular language was dissimilar to humanity's, as the Chozo actually invented a method of writing _prior_ to speaking coherently.

Samus laughed inwardly at the author's conclusion despite herself, and, upon realizing her haughtiness, quieted. Although Samus _had_ lived with the bird-like people for almost her whole childhood, she never learned of their history – either in their culture, civilization, or just basic facts. Startled at grasping this fact so long past the Chozo's disappearance from the universe, Samus almost missed seeing the moving dot on the radar of her helmet's HUD. Samus barely sidestepped from the shot as she closed the document and found herself using the combat visor; apparently, she had stepped into an antechamber unusually large in size, with two abnormally shaped turrets affixed to the ceiling fifty meters above.

There were short alcoves on the wall, approximately ten meters above the ground – a short hop would suffice, if one wished to be on them, Samus noted. There was a stone statue of – well, it _seemed _like a Chozo – in the top-right corner of Samus' vision, resting on in niche about five meters wide, maybe thirty meters above the ground; from what Samus observed, there was no possible way to get to the statue yet, with her limited equipment. That brought her attention back to the turrets, which she scanned quickly, revealing their stats: the Federation turrets, model GMX-04 Halberd-Class, were, upgraded versions of the old Growlers, and were capable of greater damage and faster shooting. As she continued to stare at the turrets, a large monotonous voice boomed from, seemingly, nowhere, and the thoughts of research fled from her mind.

"Identify yourself, unrecognizable entity. If you do not give a coherent reply in twenty seconds, we will desist with all peaceful negotiations and commence Phase One."

********************

"Sir, with all due respect, I can't comply with those orders gladly."

"Then, by all means, _don't_ be glad."

The lieutenant barely suppressed a groan from surfacing, and took a breath – not too deep, but it was not light, either. "If I may speak freely…?"

"You already have, Davis."

"Commander LeTania is a pompous, obnoxious man who happens to have a record on disobeying commands and not following instructions _specifically_ ordered by his superiors. His past records state-"

"I know what his past records say. What they _don't_ say is that he's a good friend of your dear captain."

Valerie Davis blushed slightly, taken aback by Daniel's outright attitude, but remained quite unperturbed. "Are you playing favoritism?"

"_With all due respect_, are you playing favoritism, _sir_." Daniel could not help but correct his lieutenant; and his lieutenant could not help but be annoyed at him for that.

"With all due respect, are you playing favoritism, sir?"

The lieutenant's voice was straining, and he knew she knew he was enjoying this charade, but Daniel did nothing to ease her position. "No, I thought it was just worth stating. For future references, Davis, before you start slandering a peer's reputation."

"I wasn't-"

"Where were you trained for military action, lieutenant?"

"On Jovia XII, sir. But what-"

"On a planet of shape shifters? No wonder you don't have any manners."

"_That _is plain stereotyping, sir-"

"And apparently, you weren't listening to my statement." There was silence for a few moments, and Daniel observed his lieutenant's fazed manner. Her stance gave signs of unease, discomfort, and anger – all of which were not present at the beginning of the conversation, but obviously were provoked by the captain's stimulating arguments. "Listen, I've known all of you on my task force for about one decade now, and I speak to you now as a friend, as Daniel to Valerie, not Captain Exeter to Lieutenant Davis. I say: Sam is a good person; a joker, yes, and a callow troublemaker, but a decent soldier and ally all the same. He's loyal to the Galactic Federation no matter what – he only disobeys orders when he thinks it's in the Federation's best interest. Besides, you're everything he isn't. You'll complete him."

"Did that have a double meaning, sir?" Valerie's face was flushed red; Daniel thought her face would pop any second now.

Luckily for Daniel, Valerie did not notice it was time for her captain to be embarrassed. "I certainly hope not. Back to the main point, do you understand your orders, lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir. The Commander and I will make haste to come back here in seventy-two hours at the latest, with a full report completely covering the current details of Tivus."

"That's your secondary objective. Can you guess what your primary one is?"

"Get a cup of coffee for my captain."

"That's a good girl."

********************

"You have ten seconds left. Answer coherently in Standard or you will be terminated."

Samus had never been this aggravated before; yet she tried remaining sanguine even against the odds. No matter where she moved, no matter how innocuous her actions gave the impression of being, the turrets would swivel around as fast as she stirred. If she shot at the turrets, they no doubt would lose against her in a firefight… but that would only apply for the first phase. From Samus' scans of the turrets, their third phase was ultimately deadly to enemies, overpowering them in a single shot, and that was undesirable to the huntress

To Samus' utter frustration, the robotic tone spoke once again. "You have five seconds left; four, three, two, one… Commencing Phase One." The dual Halberd-Class guns extended about a-fifth of a meter out and shot slowly, alternating blasts at Samus. Caught by surprise by the shot's speed, although she had done her best to steel herself for the shooting, Samus was grazed on the left ankle by one of the shots – it took off a single energy segment as a result. Then, Samus hopped off to her right side, dodging the next few power blasts. Samus, aggravated that this would eventually lead to nothing but her demise if nothing were done, returned fire.

"Stand down, unknown figure." Samus felt the need to comply with the order, given its demanding and intimidating tone, but did not cease fire. "You have been warned, unidentified figure. Commencing Phase Two."

The turrets suddenly increased their rate of fire, continually aiming at Samus. They missed, then got a few shots in, and bombarded Samus, efficiently taking off a whole energy tank in a matter of seconds. Samus returned fire even faster, attempting to duplicate the turrets' rate of fire, desperately jumping around the small anteroom to try avoiding the turrets' shots.

"Stand down, unknown figure," the mechanical sound repeated, but Samus did nothing this time, either. "You had been forewarned twice, and disobeyed orders. Commencing Phase Three-"

With a sizzle, sparks flashed out of the turrets' moving joints, and the turrets themselves popped off the metal attachments and fell to the ground with a _ping_, effectively rendered useless. And as she allowed herself a small kvelling within, the truth hit her: these turrets had been reinforced with armor that should have made them less vulnerable to her Power Beam, so the only way to tear them off the fixtures they had been attached to would be to either do it manually (and one would have to be excessively physically strong to do so) or cause a self-destruct within. There were no apparent signs of a control panel of sorts, nor was there a doorway, which meant the turrets had to be controlled externally if they were done manually – and that would be where the saboteur had to be. A sound of metal-against-metal from above her – seemingly above the ceiling – confirmed her suspicions, and Samus pointed her gun fruitlessly at the ceiling. Then the Chozo statue in the top corner of the room burst into pieces as a black-and-purple stranger wearing various bits of armor and an energy blade on its wrist flew – no, was hurled – through it.

A Space Pirate.

**********--x--**********

Noxus had no qualms about tracking his target on a planet he had no clearance to; as a Vhozon warrior, he justified it and the eradication of felons with the simple reasoning that the Vhozon held this responsibility since apparently no other species had taken the mantle of peacekeepers of the galaxy and the time to eliminate all criminals. Noxus was comfortable capturing his prey no matter the location; what he _was_ uneasy about was the nature of the colony itself – if "colony" could even correctly define the settlements, that is. The gauche structures that constituted much of the buildings portrayed many eldritch outlets on the construction superficies, scattered evenly atop the rim of the buildings. These outlets, upon initial observation by Noxus, each had a single steel pole resting in it stretching across to the adjacent hole on the other side of the triangular structures. The shafts extended even further out, and one would reach a palpable logical reasoning that such rods were constructed to suspend something.

Among the assortments of buildings habiting the area were iron conical pillars protruding from the ground, in the general shape of stalagmites. They seemed entirely to be architectural toys, made for the pure fancy of the builders out of enjoyment or displaying; yet, more fascinating about these were the manifestation of minute spikes poking out the surface of the cone near the top, right above a small bowl-like apparatus. From what Noxus could see, it seemed like a centrifuge of sorts, although he could not tell – from the design or material – how old this model was; if, indeed, Noxus had been correct in his deduction. After several more glances at the odd structures, Noxus' interest in them waned; conversely, Spire could scarcely discontinue his incessant stare at the misshapen stalagmites.

"Is that a communications tower?"

Startled at Noxus' inquiry, Spire raised his head just high enough to spot a dismal-appearing stone temple, perhaps a pantheon or shrine for a worshipped God. "The temple? That's nothing like a comm. tower, you idiot. Are you sure the Covee didn't take away some of your intelligence too?"

"If you're implying I'm being dense, Diamont," Noxus bristled warningly at his partner, "you'll be invited to a fight with me. Otherwise, no, the Corrue virus did not. In fact, I was pointing towards the object about a kilometer away, three degrees left of that temple."

Spire shifted slightly to his left and his gaze fell upon a metal dilapidated tower with G.F. printed on its facade. Its blue-white paint had worn off, giving the construct a desolate, broken guise. Useless wires hung from the front also, the tendrils sticking out and clinging the building much like dried octopuses' tentacles losing their hold on a precious item. The sleek design of the tower added to the impression of a professional, new-generation building with futuristic designs and defense system. But what caught Spire's eyes was a humongous, sectioned cable that uniformly snaked its way around the top of the building, curved downwards, met the ground, and continued out of sight. By exterior viewing, there were no openings on the building for the huge cable to connect.

"That could _possibly_ be one," Spire shamelessly replied to Noxus, nonchalant of his previous misassumption. "We should probably check it out. There could be equipment we can use to find exactly where Viper went, along with readings and records of any unregistered G.F. ships to have entered or exited atmosphere in the last few weeks. We can also download a map of this entire planet and check nearby space stations for any suspicious activity."

"And I thought you knew for sure where the space scum fled," Noxus rudely commented. _You sound just like a Federation officer, too. _Sickened by Spire's apathetic concern for the possible presence of enemies – or even the lack of deducing such a possibility may exist – the cold Vhozon brushed past him, and went straight for the Galactic Federation tower. Regardless of there being floods of soldiers awaiting him, Noxus knew he would not hasten to kill them were it necessary to bounty the Space Pirate Viper.

"Hey, wait for me!" the Diamont childishly proclaimed as he realized Noxus was to leave him here with no regards to his safety. _Well, what did I expect, for him to be truly grateful I was there when he was poisoned?_ Spire huffed exhaustedly, tiring of the distinguished Vhozon's accompaniment. "I take it you plan on going to the comm. tower?" A nod from Noxus. "I'm coming too. Don't forget, we're in this together," Spire muttered under his breath, and promptly fell behind Noxus.

Upon reaching the huge pillar, Spire noticed the more prominent and distinguishing features of it. The metal appeared to be die-cast, and the matching plates of the tower exterior seemed to be assembled in an assorted and careless fashion; the irregular tips jutted from the sides, and there were webs within the gaps where the plating had folded out to make said tips. The blocky G.F. letters Spire had seen from a distance were much less neat from this closer view, adding to its new yet old, ugly yet beautiful deceptive design. The overall design of the building was certainly futuristic, if not drab in its external features; yet the dilapidated look contrasted with this feeling, leading the viewer to believe it was accident resulting in such a unique look.

Spire took a step toward it and breathed exasperatedly, "You coming?"

The Galactic Federation prides itself on the quality of their equipment, their strict training regiment and schedule, the benefits those trainers receive, the brutal laws it enforces upon the common people, trainees, and fugitives, and the extensively lengthy trials lawbreakers receive as a pitiful token of democracy. What it does _not _pride itself on are the soldiers it trains.

This much was evident to Noxus, whose Judicator relentlessly pushed the flood of troops back as if he were a Juggernaut from Hell; as far as it concerned the troopers, Noxus _was _one. Spire, on the other hand, was the little devil that watches gleefully as the ambassador of death pummels innocent people, and when things went awry, lent an occasional hand of destruction to aid it.

Soon after the entrance of Noxus and Spire through the 300-foot tower's door, the two bounty hunters were the only remaining survivors of the violent slaughter that had occurred not but a few minutes ago. After the tense struggle, the overwhelming calm of peace and quiet that followed from no enemies left were unsettling, and the duo chose to compensate for this feeling by surveying their surroundings. The inside of the comm. tower was just as drab and dull as the exterior, and stained chairs rested lazily on the ground. Aside from these, there were no other features except the dead men on the floor.

"Come on, let's go." Spire restlessly gasped, not bothering to check Noxus' expression at the place. He turned on his heels to leave, and was suddenly faced with a perplexing enigma. There were two paths ahead, one curving up on wire stairs to a possible control room of the entire tower containing records galore of this planet, and another that seemed to be made of the same material as the cable Spire saw outside, leading deviously downward to an unknown destination.

Without waiting for Spire's consent or agreement, Noxus headed down.

As the two ventured farther below the ground, no comments were exchanged between them; they instead concentrating on observing for anything extraordinary.

Upon reaching the end, they noticed a room constructed of steel. There were prominent computers to the sides, and windows above them. The most prominent attribute of the room was the Space Pirate burying its face into a monitor, intently perusing the information posted on the screen. Beside it, at its feet, were less than a dozen men killed.

Upon hearing Noxus and Spire the pirate turned around, and Noxus tensed upon confirmation of the pirate being Viper, crouching in a battle-ready position. Spire did the same beside him.

Eyeing the violet figure, the pirate sneered in a raspy tone, "Well, if it isn't the two useless hunters who've come to capture me. Severing your heads will make a fine trophy when I get back home." With that said, Viper lashed out at the two bounty hunters with a violent hack of an energy saber that had materialized as he spoke.

* * *

**I hope my readers have all enjoyed this chapter. For those of you who are perhaps curious as to when I plan to update this story yet again, I must say that I do not know. I also suffer from chronic _Real Life Syndrome_ (Kefka Floyd owns this, by the way) as do some of my favorite Metroid writers, and I apologize for having a life.**

**However, I hope to finish writing at least half of chapter five by 2009, and the whole chapter if it is decided to be a short one.**

**But if not, I wish you all a Merry Christmas this coming December 25.  
**


	5. Rogues

Hey, long time no see, readers! It's almost been a year since the release of the new version of Retribution... which coincidentally was my younger brother's birthday. Man, do I find weird times to upload stuff...

Truthfully, this chapter took so long to get out because I have been busy with the end of year stuff at my school, as well as preparing for my transition to tenth grade - or in my district, a high school!

Frankly, I also lost quite a bit of interest in writing this story, as well as forgetting its existence at times. There's Ichigo 100%, Gundam Seed, With the Will, Sega, and Halo 3 to keep me busy. Oh, and discovery of my own Wiki page: http :// www .fanhistory. com/wiki/PY687.

Really quite interesting when considering how much time has passed from Christmas, about the time when I claimed this chapter would be out soon. I mean, half a year? That's far too long. I'll have to really try this year.

But enough of this; don't let me keep you from reading this short chapter!

* * *

**_Metroid Retribution: Escape_**

Chapter V: Rogues

"And with this single weapon, we shall _destroy_ Samus Aran!" In answer, the humongous crowed assembled on the bottom floor of the hall cheered. The slummy group residing on the outskirts of it rooted as well, Weavel among them. Ever since his failure at retrieving the Omega Cannon, he had been branded by the pirates as a fiasco, though not by any distinguishing mark. Rumors had been swirling around the population for months, and Weavel had already been expecting this to be a result of his failure, and naturally ostracized himself. It did not help that he started acting like an ignominious boor recently. All space pirates who worked with or near Weavel went out of his way, due to his violent outbursts or because they feared being associated with a debacle would taint their own reputation.

Not that Weavel minded. In a way, he was pleased with the outcome. Although it was evident he failed a mission, and _that_ was disappointing and shameful, this was really the most he could have made out of it. He was lucky General Ridley hadn't torn half his body apart – _especially_ since he could have done so while Weavel stayed alive. Weavel, shuddering at the thought, continued listening to the speech given by the general himself. It was not surprising in the least why She hadn't made it, but Weavel had heard rumors of her reparations and, amazingly, reappearance. _It is only a matter of time_, he thought, _before we shall loot and overtake the Federation, as is our rightful duty to Her._

As he left the announcement, Weavel scowled as a bumbling space pirate skittered across his path, forcing him to halt momentarily in his pacing. Unfortunately, Newton's first law of motion still applied in the deep nether regions of space, and Weavel's sudden break in stride caused him to topple over and knock into said pirate. Within seconds, an outburst broke from the other and Weavel found himself in his fourth fistfight of the month.

It was _so_ difficult to wait seven more weeks for his assignment to begin.

* * *

Noxus barely exchanged two blows with Viper before Spire rammed into the side of the pirate, effectively knocking it off its feet – for a second. Viper quickly rolled on his side and pushed against the ground with extraordinary strength, launching himself into an upright battle-ready position using only his arms. Even Spire looked surprise – he hardly expected his foe to stand so soon after the vicious shove, much less retain the strength and grace of an acrobat. Seeing the bounty hunters' astonished faces, Viper smirked.

The icy Vhozon was first to snap out of the trancelike state; within seconds of the space pirate's show he had dropped to one knee and charged his ice beam. Noxus fired the Judicator before thrusting the balls of his heel against the metal walkway and launching his whole body towards the pirate, attempting a feat not dissimilar to Spire's. As expected by the hunter, Viper shielded himself against the freezing effects of the Judicator with his energy shield, which left the pirate entirely vulnerable to a physical dive. As Viper tangled with Noxus, Spire hesitantly aimed his Magmaul at the bundle of figures. A direct hit, and Viper would be considerably weakened. A slight miss, and Noxus would be toast – literally. When the pirate emerged on top from the wrestle, Spire took quick advantage of the situation and reflexively released the burning shot. The fireball of energy struck its target in his side and hurled Viper across the catwalk to the other side, through an apparently thin wall of steel.

Spire deftly assisted Noxus up, not bothering to check the hunter's status, and swiftly ran to the hole Viper had torn in the wall. On the other side were the space pirate and one other person they had not counted on seeing.

The greatest bounty hunter this side of the galaxy, Samus Aran.

* * *

Samus blinked. Though not fazed, she certainly was intimidated when two familiar Vhozon and Diamont burst onto the scene, evidently chasing the injured space pirate. She found herself torn between several decisions: help the pirate because anyone hunted by Spire and Noxus couldn't be _that_ bad, kill the pirate because it'd destroy her as soon as Samus turned her back on it, or capture them all first and talk later. Of course, the fourth decision was to avoid the unnecessary conflict and escape this disastrous temple. Though she was inclined to attack the three aliens, Samus knew it would be in her best interest to leave instantly – _especially_ if the bounty hunters were cooperating to take down the pirate. Nevertheless, it pained her enormously as she began morphing to ball form. She was almost glad the space pirate had awoken from its dazed condition and fired a few blasts at her position before hurling himself at the sphere. Samus caught the pirate square in the chest and sent it flying several feet.

"_You! _I know you!" the warrior rasped, spitting colored blood, as it steadied itself. "Samus Aran: the huntress who demolished Zebes and fell the space dragon, General Ridley!" Then, appearing to remember something else, the pirate's eyes narrowed in confusion and disappointment. "So it's safe to assume that bounty hunter, Sylux, was as useless as he looked."

_So _this_ is the failure who hired Sylux, _Samus concluded._ Seems he's not bright enough to know that I'm not the type of person to be caught by anyone. _Without responding to the space pirate's revelation, Samus morph ball boosted into it. Caught by surprise, the creature dived headfirst to its right, narrowly avoiding a collision course with the sphere. As she passed by the pirate, Samus retransformed into her bipedal stance and cocked her arm cannon at it.

She sent a voice message to Adam; no matter what happened to her, it was imperative Adam stayed out of the hands of the Federation or rogue hunters. "Adam, can you hear me? Get the ship off Tivus, now!" Samus added as an afterthought, "And you can toss Sylux off the ship now; there's no reason to keep him aboard any longer," then realized the message had been cut off. Scowling, she prepared to repeat the message when the pirate lunged at her, an oddly-shaped dagger in its hands.


	6. Fate

**So... I fired G3Rain1. Not because he was doing a bad job (actually, I thought he was a great editor), but rather I felt I was more of a nuisance than anything, giving him a chapter to beta every five or so months. Well, I didn't want to disappoint anyone (except maybe myself) so I freed from this menial task - he had his own life to live, stories to write, chaps to beta read. I've also decided it would be better for me to release short chaps rather than try to write long ones... so yeah.**

**Hope you guys enjoy the sixth chapter of Escape, Fate!**

**_

* * *

_**

Metroid Retribution: Escape

Chapter VI – Fate

The space pirate lunged at the orange huntress, rage devouring his eyes. He recklessly hacked at Samus, who swiftly evaded the attack. Twisting around, her right forearm leading the rest of her body, she shot thrice at the assailant. Two caught the pirate in the chest before he regained his balance and dodged the last ball. His eyes had acquired a steely, calculating look, as if Samus' shots had brought him back to his senses. The space pirate now warily strafed around her, and she tensed. She hated when her enemies weren't going berserk – that usually meant their wits were collected.

The pirate managed to prove her conjecture: no longer was he blindly angry, but rather cold and unreadable. Abruptly, he rushed towards Samus, and she could see he was aiming not at her as a whole, but her legs. She quickly brought back her foot, moments before the pirate dug his dagger into the ground. However, rather than following up with a tackle as Samus had expected, the space pirate lashed at her with an energy beam from its wrist and slashed diagonally, immediately taking out forty units of her current energy tank. Stunned for a second, Samus received a second hack from the pirate before intercepting shots from above halted his assault. He retrieved the dagger from the ground and whipped his arm around, throwing the knife. It flew through the air with a shrill, piercing sound and punctured the source of the icy blasts: Noxus' Judicator.

Cursing at the worsening circumstances, the pirate gave a guttural growl and – seemingly – scanned for ways to escape the situation. Samus quickly took advantage of the space pirate's distraction to counterattack, striking with a left hook and socking the side of the pirate's face. Before she could continue her attack the pirate took hold of her shoulders and kneed her in the gut. Tired of getting hurt by him, Samus morphed into a ball and boosted between his legs, laying a power bomb next to them. A second later she was standing triumphantly over the fallen space pirate, who was too weakened to fight.

The next thing she knew, fireballs were raining down on Samus. "Get out of here. He's our bounty," Spire's comment accompanying his shots.

Though she realized she was outnumbered, and thus outmatched, Samus felt she couldn't just leave without getting some answers. It couldn't possibly be by chance that she met up with these two again – on the same side.

And then the world went dark.

* * *

Valerie Davis and Samuel LeTania, seated as comfortably as possible in the largest available evacuation pod of the_ GFS Nemesis_, readied themselves by reviewing the mission itinerary.

"Okay, so first thing we do when we land on Tivus is-"

"Yeah, I know," Sam interrupted. "Take note of environment, record readings of humidity and temperature, something related to climate, all the ordinary stuff those research scientists do."

Valerie glared at him. "Well then, so if you're so smart, why don't you recite the rest of our orders?"

"Eh, easy as pie. But how about I don't and say I did?"

Valerie just sighed as the escape pod prepared for launch.

Meanwhile, Daniel had just finished relaying his orders to the rest of the crew. To himself, he wondered what interest the admiral could have in the little-known planet of Tivus and why he wanted Dan to send two of his finest to do some reconnaissance activity, but shrugged the probing thought away as a subordinate asked him a question. He only hoped Sam and Val would be able to get to the Tetra galaxy and meet up with the task force safely.

* * *

Samus had absolutely no idea how much time had lapsed since the collapse when she finally awoke, but she figured it had been several hours based on how rested she felt. As she got up her legs ached, but Samus couldn't deny she felt energized. It was as if she had taken a relaxing nap on a silky soft bed, and then woken to the supple, melodious whine of a dog.

The first thing she noticed around her was the lack of the space pirate and the other hunters, which led her to believe they had taken it away as their bounty. Whether or not that actually concerned her was another question, but it caused her to hesitate on believing Adam's intel. She was starting to doubt if the Federation were the only ones on this planet.

However, she pushed aside the disturbing idea and began to exit the temple – it had been a waste of time after all.

* * *

**Not sure if you guys have noticed, but I've kinda been losing interest in this story; hence, the lack of updates and shorter length. That'll change in the upcoming months, however!**


	7. Convergence

_**Metroid Retribution: Escape**_

Chapter VII – Convergence

No longer fatigued, though still as intrigued, Samus departed the stone temple; to her surprise, the sun was nigh the highest point in the sky. _That's odd,_ she contemplated. _Perhaps it takes longer for Tivus to orbit around its sun?_ Curious, she checked the internal clock of her power suit; it read 17:38. The sun definitely stayed in the sky longer than it did on Earth, which Samus based her clock on.

Only four and a half hours had passed since Samus entered the temple. Dismayed she lost this much time already, she hurriedly continued towards the west; she vowed nothing would disrupt her search now.

_It'll be much easier to deal with the Federation if I have leverage—and what better way to do that than threatening them through incriminating evidence? Guess I don't have to hide on Bes III after all._

* * *

"Now to get off this godforsaken rock. Who would have thought the Federation would colonize this planet? It's a piece of crap."

"You're wrong," Noxus suddenly interrupted. "Tivus hasn't been colonized; it's been taken over because…"

"…Yeah, go on."

The Vhozon bristled, annoyed. "I don't know; this planet has always been somewhat of a mystery, even to those working for the Federation. Its true purpose remains unknown, and no reports concerning what place Tivus has in the confederation have been released, ever, besides 'a simple training ground for our forces.' But this place is anything but. Even so, my inside sources have no access to files on Tivus at all."

"So the Federation's doing something fishy here?"

"Most likely—but that's not what we're here for. Don't go off gallivanting on your own in hopes of discovering something related to the Diamonts; there are no guarantees you'd find anything, and I'm not wasting my time waiting in case you get lost."

"Harsh. Not even if we come across an outpost?"

"Especially." Noxus increased his pace, effectively ending the conversation. _Hopefully spiky here didn't park his ship much further from here. I just want to claim the bounty and get away from this bumbling idiot._

* * *

The escape pod ejected from the side of the _GFS Nemesis_, the force of the expulsion startling Sam.

"Ah!" he yelped.

"What was that for? You were counting along with the countdown."

"Yeah, but I didn't expect the ejection to be so loud."

Valerie wrinkled her nose. "So you were…never mind. I'm not even interested." Sighing, she turned to face away from her partner, which actually was a difficult task—although the pod was the largest on the _GFS Nemesis_, it still barely held two people, especially if one of them was attempting to sit sideways on the leather seat.

"Need some help?" Sam barely suppressed a grin.

"Not from you, I don't." Grunting, Valerie tried one more time to make room for her head to lean against the sides of the ship.

She held the position for a couple seconds, and Sam was about to congratulate her when the discomfort became unbearable and she gave a cry of dissatisfaction as she reverted to her original position. "You know, if you keep acting that way it'll be hard for you to find a boyfriend."

Valerie glared at her shipmate.

"Okay, don't worry. At least you'll always have me-" Sam's comment was stifled when a shoe met his face.

Suddenly the small computer monitor to at the back of the pod beeped once, and Valerie abandoned her assault on Sam to check the alert. After typing a couple commands, she examined the screen to see a purple ship leaving the planet surface. In the corner of the display was a zoomed still image of the vessel. The two stared at the picture for a couple breathless seconds.

Sam broke the ice. "Is it just me, or does that look astoundingly like Samus' ship?"

Valerie ignored his question; instead, she took action and prepared to send a message to the _GFS Nemesis_. One second…two seconds…three seconds…. Frustrated the email was taking so long, Valerie slammed the monitor.

"Oh, come on, you stupid-"

The lights instantly went off, and the computer dimmed until it remained a silent black display.

"What did you do now?"

Surprised, Valerie stuttered. "I…well, it was- it wasn't…I just…. When the hell did the emergency vessel computer systems get so useless?!"

_Great, _Sam thought. _Now I'm stuck here with a crazy lady in orbit around the planet the target is leaving. Goddamn it, why didn't I become a lawyer like my mother told me?_

_

* * *

_

Py: Yeah, so this chapter was definitely short. I do apologize for that, guys. But frankly, my interest in Escape has waned over the year(s) and I do want to move on to other projects. And I know that itself is funny, since I have, like, five going on at once; that's why I'm trying to end them in the best way possible. But I've become quite attached to my fics, so I can't end them just yet.... So I'll probably update all my stories with short, less-than-1,000-words chapters. Sorry, and thanks for sticking with me this long. :/


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